Erud's Crossing

Erud's Crossing is the name of the zone which the ferry from Qeynos to Erudin passes through, and it marks the path that Erud himself travelled on his way to the island of Odus centuries ago. Erud's Crossing's only feature is an island that marks the halfway point of the trip, and it is a most unique island, with its own ecosystem of unique creatures.

Map

Dangers

TLDR: Many NPCs on the island assist each other, even across types. Kerrans assist beetles (and maybe more). Wisps assist each other and path all over. And there's no escape in the zone, really... short of gating out of the zone or gating far enough away from crowd-controlled enemies that you can camp out before CC breaks and they run you down again.

This island is a very dangerous zone for several reasons. First of all, there is practically no escape from enemies if you run into trouble and are overwhelmed. There is no zone edge that anyone can easily swim to, and no guards to protect you. It is even impossible to flee into the water when chased, because most monsters will chase you there as well.

Secondly, the ecosystem of the island is quite variable and the monsters have an intricate relationship. The following information is mostly secondhand, but reliable as far as what happens on the island. First of all the island is very small, so it is not uncommon to have monsters of the same type as the one you're fighting wander by and join in. All monsters (besides Kerra Snakes) will join with others of their type. Secondly, many of the monsters are intertwined in their relationships, the most complex being the beetles and spiders. The Kerra Isle Beetles are well-liked by the Kerrans who hang out by the dock. As such, killing the beetles can make getting on and off the island difficult, as these Kerrans will begin to hate you and are also among the most powerful monsters here. Also, killing the beetles can result in the spawning of Island Madmen by the docks, some of whom are extremely dangerous spellcasters and all of whom are powerful and aggressive. They can also cause Fire Elementals to spawn in the volcano, which are aggressive and high level. These have also been known to swarm the island. The spiders represent a different problem, and that is that they all seem to know what is going on elsewhere on the island. Attacking one is a quick way to draw others to you, and there are rumors that the entire island's population of spiders has occasionally swarmed an attacker.

The other danger is, as mentioned above, the unpredictability of the spawn rates. For instance, the zombie sailors generally spawn at a regular rate and can provide good hunting. There are rumors that, however, there are occasions when the zombie sailors spawn en masse and swarm the island. Skeleton sailors occasionally spawn in their place, and are much tougher. The other problem with the island in general is that you must be very aware of how small it is and how easily it is for others to join in on the fight. This was mentioned before, but needs to be emphasized. You should not come here to hunt evens and upper hands solo, you will assuredly die at some point because another will join in. This happens with all the monsters, not just those specifically mentioned above.

Benefits

The biggest benefit to hunting in Erud's Crossing is hunting willowisps. There are 9 spawns on the island, wandering around from the beach up into the middle of the volcano. They require magical weapons, level 12 pet spells, or spells to hit (though they can hurt each other when charmed). They are pretty decent experience in and of themselves, but they also drop lightstones and greater lightstones. GLSs can be turned in at gypsy camps (north karana, south ro, maybe other spots too) for an item that sells for 9pp and for a BUNCH of experience. Lightstones can be sold to vendors for 1pp or turned in at the same camps for less experience and an item that sells for several gold. Soloing wisps in Erud's from levels 12-16 will fill your bags with GLSs that will get you another level or two in turnins and hundreds of pp.

The island Kerrans can also be hunted. They are warriors, around level 15, and usually can be pulled solo. You lose faction and eventually become KOS however.

Unless you are KOS with the kerrans, there is one near the docks who is a merchant. Wisps drop quite a bit of copper and silver and gold, but if you use this merchant to sell and rebuy gems you can basically bank with a small tax to turn small coin into gold or plat to reduce the weight.

(Pretty impractical information, but preserved for posterity: Despite the above dangers, this island can be a great deal of fun to hunt in. The danger makes it very exciting, and there is a great deal of strategy to hunting without being swarmed. The island is also generally not very heavily hunted, and has a good variety of creatures, although people generally come to hunt the wisps that frequently spawn and the zombie sailors because of their rawhide armor and for quests out of Qeynos.

There is also a strong sense of comraderie among the people on the island. Basically, one person killing the wrong monster or starting the wrong train can result in the death or near-death of virtually every person on the island, so there is a willingness to help out here that you rarely see elsewhere. The smallness of the island makes you feel like you are in your own little world, with only the occasional boat to take you to safety.)

Traveling To and From

Erud's Crossing can only be reached via the ferry that runs from Qeynos to Erudin. When coming from Qeynos, the ferry runs along the shore for quite some time before actually reaching the docks, so many impatient adventurers jump ship and swim for shore. This also helps you to avoid the Kerrans at the docks. When on the boat from Erudin to Qeynos, the boat passes far north of the island, but if you are an able swimmer you could jump ship and make it to the island. Catching the boat to Qeynos this way, however, is significantly more difficult.